The Founding Myth: Why Christian Nationalism Is Un-American

by Andrew L. Seidel

Michele Bachmann invited one of the most deceitful historical revisionists, David Barton—a man who used erroneous historical quotations,66 misrepresented Jefferson and his views on the separation of state and church,67 and wrote a biography of Jefferson so full of bad history that the publisher pulled it off the shelves68—to teach a class to Congress on the Christian history of the Constitution.69 Two-time presidential hopeful and former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee expressed the belief that “all Americans should be forced—forced at gunpoint no less—to listen to every David Barton message.”70 Forbes’s Congressional Prayer Caucus once introduced a resolution in the House of Representatives to recognize “the first weekend of May as Ten Commandments Weekend to recognize the significant contributions the Ten Commandments have made in shaping the principles, institutions, and national character of the United States.”71 The resolution also claimed that the Ten Commandments are “an elemental source for United States law.”72 Not quite. Forbes and Barton founded and run the groups (the Congressional Prayer Caucus Foundation and Wallbuilders, respectively) leading the Christian nationalist push discussed earlier, Project Blitz.